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Shafilea Ahmed's mother Farzana has told Chester Crown Court that she saw her husband Iftikhar Ahmed slap their daughter Shafilea twice on the night she disappeared. She said that she had 'never seen her husband so angry' and that when she tried to intervene she was pushed and punched herself.

The Warrington couple are on trial for the murder of their daughter Shafilea, 17, in 2003. Both deny the charges.

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On trial with his wife for the murder of their daughter Shafelia, Iftikhar Ahmed is today facing cross-examination from his wife's defence counsel. Mr Ahmed has denied having a violent nature and has questioned his wife's mental state after she changed her evidence on Monday.

Farzana Ahmed now says she saw her husband attacking Shafelia on the night of the 17-year-old's disappearance. Mr Ahmed today again denied having anything to do with his daughter's death.

Iftikhar Ahmed was giving evidence during his trial for the murder of his daughter in 2003. He described her as 'bubbly' and said he hoped she would one day become a lawyer.

From primary school she was in the athletics team, education-wise she was absolutely brilliant. Academically she was As and Bs. Her best subject was art... She was a character in herself - very bubbly.

Iftikhar Ahmed broke down in the witness box at Chester Crown Court, saying he had nothing to do with his daughter's death. Earlier this week his wife Farzana changed her account, saying she witnessed her husband beat Shafilea on the night of the alleged murder.

She also claimed he had threatened to do the same to her and their other children if she ever asked him what had happened to Shafilea. Today Ahmed denied harming Shafelia, and when asked how he felt about his wife, replied 'I love her to bits'.

When he was asked how he felt when his daughter's body was found, he struggled to respond, before adding in a strained voice: "We couldn't believe it when we heard."